Volodymyr Agafonkin: The Story of Leaflet, Building the Simplest Mapping Library & Life in Ukraine

Volodymyr Agafonkin is the creator of Leaflet, an open-source JS mapping library started in 2008 that is used pretty much everywhere on the Internet today. We end up nerding out on what makes building simple open source software & rendering maps online tricky but also so endlessly interesting. Volodymyr lives in Ukraine, a country shaken by a war for the past few years, which we also talk about.Sponsor: Nimbo by KermapTry out Kermap's monthly mosaic viewer Nimbo for yourselfSupport the podcast on PatreonAbout VolodymyrTwitterLinkedInWebsiteShownotesNote: Links to books are Amazon Affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you buy any of these books.LeafletMapbox blogpost on adaptive map projectionsCloudMadeHow Simplicity Will Save GISBooks & PodcastsThe Storyteller by Dave Grohl (Affiliate Link)My Effin’ Life by Geddy Lee (Affiliate Link)Reply All podcastSearch Engine podcastHeavyweight podcastTimestamps(00:00) - Intro(01:50) - Sponsor: Nimbo(03:26) - Volodymyr Describes Himself(04:22) - The story behind Leaflet(13:31) - Cloudmade Backstory(16:42) - From closed software to open source(23:43) - Maintaining high quality code(27:56) - Cloudmade today(31:21) - Leaflet, funding, sustainable(35:09) - Raster vs Vector maps(41:34) - Map projections(46:36) - Current main challenges to mapping(50:52) - Future of Leaflet(51:54) - Leaflet and Ukraine(01:05:39) - Book & Podcast recommendation(01:09:35) - Support the podcast on PatreonSupport the podcast on PatreonMy video on an introduction to satellite imagesWebsiteMy TwitterPodcast TwitterRead Previous Issues of the NewsletterEdited by Peter XiongFind more of his work